Nation is always important for a spy. But often end up in hell. That was Ravindra Kaushik - his career ... and his times
Reportedly, Indira Gandhi had given him the title 'The Black Tiger'.
For Ravindra Kaushik, India's real Dhurandhar in Pakistan, it didn't end well
Ravindra Kaushik (11 April 1952 – 21 November 2001) was Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) mole in Pakistan who religiously discharged his duties for India from 1975 until he was captured in 1983.
In 1975, at the age of 23, he was sent to Pakistan.
Kaushik was trained in Delhi for two years to be an undercover operative in Pakistan.
He was also trained to live as a Muslim and was taught the Urdu language.
Being from Sri Ganganagar, a city near Rajasthan's border with Punjab, although he was native to Bagri, a local tonal language of Rajasthani, which is predominantly spoken in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts, he was also well versed in Punjabi.
India's original Dhurandhar, Ravindra Kaushik, rose from acting at college theatres, to infiltrating the Pakistan Army as a RAW Agent.
He provided critical intelligence on Pakistani troop movements and the country's nuclear programme, but died a lonely death after his betrayal and subsequent capture by the ISI.
Kaushik went undercover in Pakistan and joined the Pakistan Army, pretending to be one of them. While there, he gathered crucial information for India, including details about troop movements and Pakistan's nuclear programme. He was caught in 1983 by Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, and spent the rest of his life in prison.
He is widely regarded as the original "Dhurandhar".
He even met Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who reportedly gave him the title of "Black Tiger".
Kaushik underwent circumcision and was given the cover name "Nabi Ahmed Shakir".
After successfully getting admission in Karachi University, he completed his LL.B.
After his graduation, he infiltrated Pakistan Military under a false identity and joined the Pakistan Army, where he was employed as a major in the Military Accounts Department, not as a commissioned officer.
He married a local woman named Amaanat and fathered a boy, who died in 2001.
From 1979 to 1983, Kaushik worked as a Pakistani army clerk, sending valuable information to R&AW.
Kaushik was born on April 11, 1952, in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, a town near the India-Pakistan border, where he learned Punjabi and local dialects. While studying Commerce at SD Bihani College in Ganganagar, he took part in theatre and developed his acting skills.
In 1973, during a national-level dramatic competition in Lucknow, Kaushik performed a mono-act of an Indian soldier undergoing interrogation. His poise and linguistic command caught the attention of RAW talent spotters.
Kaushik underwent two years of rigorous training in Delhi.
He was schooled in Islamic theology, Pakistani Urdu nuances, and the geography of his target destination. accomplished the unthinkable. He joined the Pakistan Army, eventually rising to the rank of Major.
"Kaushik managed to climb the ranks to become a commissioned officer, eventually serving as a Major in the Military Accounts Department," writes Maloy Krishna Dhar, a former Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau, in his memoirs 'Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled'.
From 1979 to 1983, Kaushik funnelled high-level intelligence to New Delhi.
His reports on Pakistani troop movements in the Punjab sector and sensitive data regarding the nuclear facility at Kahuta provided India with a strategic edge. He maintained a complete double life, marrying a Pakistani woman named Amanat and parenting a child, while staying loyal to India.
In September 1983, R&AW sent a low-level operative, Inyat Masih, to make contact with Kaushik. But Masih was exposed by the Joint Counter-Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and blew Kaushik's cover.
Kaushik was captured, and tortured for two years at an interrogation center in Sialkot. He was sentenced to death in 1985; his sentence was later commuted to a life term by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
He was kept in various jails in several cities, including Sialkot, Kot Lakhpat and in Mianwali jail, for 16 years.
He managed to secretly send letters to his family in India, which revealed his poor health and the trauma he faced in Pakistani jails.
ends
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